


the lightning strike

by zappactionsdower



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: 2020 dimilix week - confessions, M/M, adventures in the outdoors, and by outdoors i mean a pit full of eldritch horrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:09:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22780780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zappactionsdower/pseuds/zappactionsdower
Summary: “I heard you were going Scavenging so...”“So I went Scavenging.  Alone.”  Felix's eyes narrowed.  “I don't need a babysitter.”  He especially didn't need clumsy brutes that made too much noise and was just as likely to break ancient tech than find it.“It is rather a long way back to the hamlet.  So would you at least consider me traveling in the same direction as you for a brief time?”
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44
Collections: Dimlix Week 2020





	the lightning strike

“Why are you here?” Felix grumbled, glaring sourly at the approaching figure. “I thought you were going to assist Dedue and Ashe in building the new gate.”

“Ah. Well, we finished that last night.” Dimitri awkwardly gave a too-practiced smile. “I heard you were going Scavenging so...”

“So I went Scavenging. _Alone_.” Felix's eyes narrowed. “I don't need a babysitter.” He especially didn't need clumsy brutes that made too much noise and was just as likely to break ancient tech than find it.

“It is rather a long way back to the hamlet. So would you at least consider me traveling in the same direction as you for a brief time?”

Felix pursed his lips. As though he had any say in what Dimitri did and didn't do. “I only packed enough food for one.”

“I can hunt.” Dimitri patted the dagger at his slim hipbone. “Please do not be concerned for me, Felix.”

Concerned.

Hardly.

“Do what you want.” He sighed and turned around, heading briskly towards the path leading towards the Dirge. He didn't need to look back to know Dimitri was following, like some excited, foolish pup.

At the very least, Dimitri knew how to be quiet, at least around Felix. His presence was distracting by itself, but it wasn't as though he chattered endlessly about nothing. Felix knew about noise in the Dirge, and had seen what happened when you got too eager inside the darkest pits The _Things_ that slithered about, starved and wild and lethal.

 _Be as silent and still as a mouse_ , Glenn had said when they were young. _Nobody ever notices a rodent, Licks. Barking hounds? That'll get you killed._

Glenn wasn't here anymore.

“It's going to get cold tonight.” Dimitri finally said, looking up at the sky as dark grey clouds began to form along the mountainous ridges in front of them.

“I told you. Stay at the hamlet if you're worried.” Felix muttered. He'd make good progress, and likely stay at the broken ruins of an old outpost that would at least shelter him from the rain and harsher winds.

“Concerned, as ever.” Dimitri hummed.

Felix wondered why he ever let the blonde tag along.

Many generations ago, it was said, the Great Cataclysm happened. A group of dark mages ripped reality itself apart, and the Goddess had to intervene to save what little she could. Whole cultures were wiped off the map, countries and borders destroyed, and the technology that had been used to bring humanity to new heights was lost, buried beneath the earth and ruinous miasma of the Dirge. It was the place where the Goddess's magic had struck; a horrifying, deep wound forever reminding them of the sins of their forebearers.

 _Before_ , his grandmother used to tell him, his family were knights of the highest order, serving king after king after king.

There were no kings anymore.

“You should eat more.” Felix tossed a freshly-cooked rabbit at Dimitri, who looked at him curiously. In the dark of the night, with the only light coming from the small fire and the white-moon above, his good eye was unnaturally bright.

“I don't need very much. We might need this later.”

“I can catch more.” He had his bow and arrows, and he'd gotten exceptionally good at throwing knives in the past year. “I don't want to hear your stomach grumbling when I'm trying to concentrate.”

Dimitri nibbled on the edges of the small meal. Felix leaned back, glancing upwards at the sky through the crumbling roof of the old outpost. A lot of Scavengers used it, mostly because of how complete the building structure was. Only a few holes in the ceiling, and two entrances to watch. Sometimes, if you were lucky, some other Scavenger would leave blankets or jerky. Some even left notes, weakly scribbled out for the others heading to the same destination.

This time, Felix wasn't lucky enough for any of that.

“Are you cold?” Dimitri asked, reaching for his fur-lined cloak.

“I'm fine.” Felix lied.

He woke up with the cloak around his body anyway.

Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. Felix's hands curled around the furs, torn between the sudden surge of adrenaline and a low-key wariness because if Dimitri was... was gone, thee could be something creeping unforeseen.

The _Things_ didn't come this far away from the Dirge.

Usually.

Slowly, he clutched at his curved knife and ventured out from the small ruins. The sun was still creeping over the horizon and the world was _quiet_ , the only sound a distant chatter of birds quibbling over whatever birds chattered about.

The road ventured into a sparse forest of short, orange-leaf trees and thick bushes with purple berries. Above him, the sky was relatively cloudless. The air was still cold, but it didn't feel like there would be rain. Hopefully.

Dimitri's pack was hanging from a tree branch near the bed of a small lake to the west.

Felix scowled.

Maybe he would murder him after all.

As he moved closer, he made out the shape of the other half-immersed in the water. How he didn't freeze was anyone's guess, but Dimitri had never made much sense. His body was, as always, built like a beast's – sharp muscles hidden beneath an otherwise slender frame The only marring was the long scar running from his shoulderblade down to his hipbone, and Felix's stomach twisted unpleasantly at the reminder.

How much worse had Glenn been torn open? Lambert?

Dimitri had never said.

“Ah.” Dimitri tossed his hair back from his face, and Felix felt his irritation grow as he watched the muscles flex in his arm. So casual, when he could be _eaten_ for his stupidity. “Good morning, Felix.”

“You didn't tell me you were leaving.” Felix growled. “I should have left you.”

The damn brute started swimming back towards shore. Felix debated on giving him the privacy to dress himself again, or making him feel guilty. Propriety won out, and he turned, crossing his arms as he caught a glance of Dimitri's waist.

“I did tell you. You said, verbatim, 'Do what you want.'” Dimitri argued, in between the quiet sounds of him sliding his clothes back on.

“I was _asleep,_ brute”

“My mistake then.” He nearly jumped as he felt Dimitri touch his shoulder. “I found some apples, if you'd like to eat?”

Felix snorted. “Fine.”

The land was starting to warp as they approached the last leg into the Dirge. Felix remembered the first time he'd seen it – jagged pieces of rock split right next to cavernous holes in the earth. Trees growing _sideways_. Birds and wild noises that didn't sound quite right.

“It looks smaller.” Dimitri mused quietly, and Felix resisted the urge to kick him.

“You haven't been since...”

“Since then.” Dimitri acknowledged, quiet. “They went down fighting, Felix.”

Felix's throat tightened.

“Even now, I think the...”

“ _Stop_.” He rolled his eyes. “I don't... I don't need to hear it. Any of it.”

“Felix...” Gods, did he sound like he wanted _pity_?

“They're _dead_ , Dimitri. Get over it.” He walked faster, just in case. He really had no idea why he let the brute come with him.

Dimitri didn't remember. He couldn't. He'd spent _weeks_ in a fever Mercedes could barely control, muttering to Glenn and Lambert as though they were right next to him. It had been enough of a shock to their small group, finding Dimitri half-dead in front of the gate, _alone,_ wounded by some unknown monster.

Felix wasn't that lucky. _Felix_ had spent hours by Dimitri's side, alternating between demanding to know what happened and crying in Sylvain's arms, begging to the Goddess for Dimitri to pull through another day. _Felix_ had spent nights near the entrance to their small, safe town, waiting and hoping – praying, to see two lanterns and two familiar figures that never returned.

He'd always wondered if he'd have been better off going with them to Scavenge. If he'd been able to save his brother, or somehow protect Dimitri's father.

It didn't matter though.

Glenn was dead now, and that was all of it.

The Dirge looked just as awful as he remembered.

It was a huge hole in the ground, purple-tinged mist covering the surface so you couldn't even see what was inside. Over the decades, groups of Scavengers had shared with each other the best paths to take, the areas to avoid, the horrors that still slithered about.

He and Dimitri descended slowly, taking a path of jagged rocks that they were both slender enough to fit through. Felix had only been a few times, but it was always unpleasant as the sounds of life disappeared, replaced by only a cold, muted _nothing_.

He swore he could hear Dimitri's heartbeat on top of his own, and their breaths were too loud in the fetid air.

Felix crouched down, glancing around in a small room of broken stone and twisted piping. The entire area was lit with an unnatural violet glow.

'Do you ever think about what they were trying to do here?” Dimiri whispered, turned slightly to his side to serve as a second pair of eyes.

“Something rotten.” Felix tapped his wrist and moved along a slender tunnel to his left. At some point, it might have been a hallway, judging from the little twinkling crystals that were still mostly visible in the walls, but that too was starting to decay into nothing.

The Dark Mages, Felix believed, were entirely too full of themselves. Glenn had talked about complex etchings along the walls of great experiments, or getting _gifts_ from the Goddess as though they were deserving of such things. Elaborate statues that were now faceless and often headless.

Felix stopped, Dimitri going still as they both heard skittering.

He moved slower. Softer. Re-traced his steps as he remembered them, towards their destination.

Felix really didn't want to know what they did here. There were metal caskets spread out, next to pipes and tubes and strange boxes full of red and blue threads that still blinked as though alive. It was open, which was bad enough, but there were claw and teeth marks all along the earth and ceiling.

Still. Felix crept forward, Dimitri staying a few paces behind him as the dark-haired man went towards one of the cold-metal boxes.

Inside were tiny crystal shards, still glowing a sickly white. _Lots_ of them.

Enough to power their Hamlet through the winter, and perhaps the next few. Enough to assist Mercedes in her healing rituals, and maybe Ashe and Dedue in their crop growing.

There was no way to carry them all, of course. No one had gotten out of the Dirge with _all_ the treasures, because being greedy meant being dead.

Still. It was worth it for even a bag full of the magic-infused crystals. Felix took as many as he could, hastily glancing back and forth. Dimitri wasn't far, crouching beside one of the caskets to dig out some unseen bits of machinery that the could give to Annette to piece together later.

He felt something hot against his shoulder.

His knife was out, but it was too late to turn as suddenly something burst out from the wall and slammed into him, sending him flying.

It was a bizarre mix of a cat and a spider, all teeth and legs and no eyes whatsoever on its round, upside-down head. It was covered in paper-thin leather skin, its skeletal frame jutting out and horrendous against the light.

The thing _screamed_ as it descended, stabbing through Felix's shoulder with a vicious-looking scythe-claw. He cursed, his vision going hot as the room spun and his hand went weakly to his knife.

The creature jerked, head whippingaway as something in one of its back legs _snapped_. It fought back, thrashing around, but whatever had it was not letting go.

Dimitri was there, yanking it bodily away. His good eye was _gleaming_ , thin blade going forward as he slammed his weapon into the creature's throat with inhuman strength.

 _Oh_ , Felix thought muzzily as the pain and adrenaline loss started to win out. He could hear the sickly sounds of it fighting, weaker and more hysterical as Dimitri drove it into its death throes. _Oh. That's why_ I let him come with me.

The world went dark.

He was dreaming. Of unpleasant things, and blood, and violet. He dreamed of being carried close, of the smell of earth and rain and cackling things in the dark being split in half by bigger, more vengeful beasts with white-scarred eyes.

Someone was humming off-key, and something warm was wrapped around him.

Felix's eyes fluttered open slowly. Painfully.

He was sitting in front of a fire, wrapped tightly in furs. His entire right side _ached_ , and he could feel the cold tingle of healing salve all over his shoulder. They were in a group of crumbling stone walls and pillars, with trees poking out past them.

Dimitri was there, tending to a small mix of cooked fish and mushrooms that didn't smell... _awful_ , by any stretch.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, not looking up.

“Awful.” He didn't know if his wound was infected, or how badly bruised he was. But... he was _awake_ , and that alone was a sign that he was going to pull through.

“We're about two days away from home. Can you sit up?”

Felix grunted and tried. It was a terrible effort, but no one but the brute was around to see it so his pride could manage. Mostly. The crumbling wall was doing most of the work.

Dimitri set the meat and mushrooms down against a piece of cloth. Felix picked at it with his left hand, nibbling quietly as he looked at nothing.

“Did we keep it? The haul?”

Dimitri hummed. “Most of it.”

“That... Thing...”

“Isn't going to hurt anyone else.” Felix didn't miss the low growl that crept into the otherwise too-pleasant tone.

“Are you?”

“I am unharmed.”

Felix scoffed, but he had to trust him. For... now.

“I'm sorry, Dimitri.”

Dimitri blinked, head tilting just so.

“I... if something happened. To you. After...” Felix looked away, considering the empty trees and the distant calls of night-owls. Those were safe things. “I can't.... deal with it. You getting hurt again.”

The tiniest of crooked smiles appeared. Felix shivered, still looking away as Dimitri came over, gently squeezing his left hand.

“I know. Do you not believe it is the same for me?”

Felix huffed, but didn't resist as was pulled close head resting just beneath Dimiti's chin. It was warm, and he didn't.... he didn't mind this.

“I'm not getting carried back. I'll walk there under my own strength.” Felix murmured.

“I know.” He could _feel_ Dimitri's smile, and he wouldn't grouse – this time.

“You can walk with me. If you want.”

“I do want to. Very much.”

At night, beneath the stars and with Dimitri warm and alive, he could almost believe the world wasn't so terrible.

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a BotW crossover with the premise "Felix and Dimitri explore Akala and Dimitri punches guardians in their laser eyes" but that did not quite work so I retooled it two weeks ago to be a little more of its own mythology.  
> But yeah. Please take your Dimitri with you when you explore ancient ruins. Safety in numbers and all that.


End file.
